The term ‘forensic’ is used in mental health to describe a situation where the legal and mental health systems interact. This occurs when an individual who has a serious mental illness comes in contact with the law as a result of committing a crime. The courts may find an individual Not Criminally Responsible or Unfit to Stand Trial on account of a mental illness. In these circumstances, the Ontario Review Board will refer individuals to a mental health care facility with an order for assessment and/or treatment. The Ontario Review Board is responsible to determine the level of security required to keep both the individual and the public safe.

The Forensic Mental Health program at Waypoint provides assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and community reintegration services to patients who have come in contact with the law. With individual recovery plans, patients can progress to a less restrictive environment and return to the community, consistent with public safety and within the limits of their defined Ontario Review Board Dispositions.

Waypoint offers a general forensic program serving the Waypoint catchment area as well as the province's only high security forensic mental health facility for adult males. The provincial programs specialize in the treatment of patients whose institutional behaviour represents a serious risk to the safety of the patient or to others, and who cannot be safely managed in a less secure hospital environment.